


we bloom until we ache

by toorumi



Category: Haikyuu!!, Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Romance, Chance Meetings, Crack Crossover, Crack Relationships, Director Ennoshita Chikara, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Opposites Attract, References to BTS Songs and Music Videos, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25310818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toorumi/pseuds/toorumi
Summary: Oikawa finally gets to be a leading man! Great for him! He always knew he was handsome enough to be one.But this isn’t really about him.After all, Sonoda Umi is the brilliant mind who wrote this song and envisioned the video. So he has to be the best leading man to his first ever leading lady.
Relationships: Oikawa Tooru/Sonoda Umi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 6





	1. you’re someone who only exists in novels

**Author's Note:**

> yes i am writing crack ship fanfiction in the cursed year of 2020 and no i will not explain!!!!! also bts songs inspired my smooth brain to write this so i apologise in advance.

“Okay guys! Let’s clean up the Haikyuu!! Quest set. We have to sort out the new one in 40 minutes, please!” Ennoshita hollers at his impromptu movie crew composed of Karasuno members and a few people Oikawa’s never seen before. 

It seems like pudding hair came with Kuroo, and the ace from Tokyo and the other cameraman were from another school. He doesn’t dwell on it too much and takes off the rest of his Demon King outfit.

“Who knew Karasuno’s #6 was an aspiring director! And he goes all out too,” He remarks to Iwaizumi as he watches him struggle with his knight costume. A giggle escapes his lips at the sight of his flustered friend attempting to tear off the armour surrounding his arms.

“Are you going to help me, you asshole?” the latter hisses as he unclasps the armour by his left arm, leaving it to clatter on the floor.

Oikawa tuts, a cheeky smirk forming on his lips. “You removed it just fine, Iwa-chan! And besides, if you can take off the arms, you can remove everything else soon enough.”

“Gee, thanks for your words of wisdom! You are absolutely useless.”

Oikawa pouts mockingly and continues to ignore his friend as he folds the velvet cape neatly. The sounds of clamouring equipment and Iwaizumi’s armour filled the tiny gym. The crew started disassembling the background and setting aside props used in earlier scenes. Shrimpy and Tobio were already wearing their jerseys. Meanwhile, Nishinoya and Baldy were removing their grey face paint with wet wipes.

He snatches off his fake horns, putting on his Seijoh practice shirt when a voice erupted from the door.

“Ennoshita-san! Sorry if we’re a bit too early. We figured we should help with setting up.” An apologetic, gentle voice of a woman descended from the gym entrance. Oikawa glances towards the door.

He sees three girls bowing, rising as Ennoshita approaches their direction. “That’s all good! I’m glad you guys want to help.” Ennoshita chirped, shaking the hand of the girl in the middle, then the others. “Although, I’d rather you relax and have your friends concentrate on helping you prepare. There are plenty of us here, so it’s no biggie.”

Oikawa observed the three visitors. The one on the left had blue eyes; her dark orange hair resting on her shoulders with a pink bow tied to a small bun on her left. The one on the right had long, grey hair laid flat on her back with golden brown eyes.

But what he found peculiar was the one in the middle. The other two were wearing red tracksuits, but she was wearing a hakama. Her hair—a marriage of blue and black—laid back, extending to her waist. Her eyes akin to hazelnut.

She smiles at Ennoshita and extends her hand to greet the Karasuno third years who made their way towards them. “On behalf of everyone in Muse, we’d like to thank you for directing this music video. We cannot express our gratitude enough, Ennoshita-san.”

Ennoshita waves his hand and chuckles, “Don’t be so formal, Sonoda-san! It’s my pleasure to be a part of this. Now, let’s all do an excellent job and make this shoot a success!”

The director adjusts his hat as he turns to the rest of the crew. “Guys!” He booms, “I’d like to introduce everyone to Sonoda Umi and her friends-slash-teammates, Kousaka Honoka and Minami Kotori.” Everyone in the crew directed their attention to the three ladies as they bow one more time. Anyone who isn’t holding heavy equipment returns the gesture.

“These three are members of an idol group called Muse based in Tokyo. They came over today to shoot a music video for their new song, focusing on Sonoda-san specifically. Kousaka-san and Minami-san will help with her wardrobe, hair, and makeup, while the rest of us take care of the technical stuff.” Ennoshita explains.

Ennoshita turns to his left and sees Nishinoya and Baldie—Tanaka, _he thinks?_ —gawking at the three ladies. The director shoots them a pointed look while raising his clenched fist. Suprisingly, that was enough to make them divert their attention elsewhere. He sighs and continues, “I’d also like to announce that we will need one male co-star for the video. Now, this will depend on wardrobe—if it fits you, then the spot is yours. Anyone who’s interested needs to approach me immediately.” He raises two items of clothing above his head for everyone to see. 

“Questions so far?” He asks around the sea of people cleaning up and running around. All of them shout an acknowledgment. Ennoshita wraps up his announcement and approaches the cameramen.

The two Karasuno managers lead the visitors towards their makeshift wardrobe. Oikawa watches them in silence. But before he knew it, his legs were already marching towards Ennoshita. Iwaizumi calls after him, but his ears fall deaf to it. He halts his feet to a stop, his shoes squeaking loud enough to grab the director’s attention.

Ennoshita had a puzzled look on his face, “Oikawa-san, what’s up? Are you and Iwaizumi-san heading off?” The former asks. The latter shakes his head.

“Umm, quite the opposite actually.” He says, eyes darting to the three ladies walking to the right side of the gym.

“I wanted to ask if I could be the male co-star for the video.” Oikawa states with absolute confidence. He played the role of the Demon King so well (Ennoshita’s words, not his). He was definitely on a roll—much to the dismay of Iwaizumi, who has to stay back until he finishes.

The director raises his brows and glances towards the little corner where the girls are staying. Then back to Oikawa. “I mean, you can try these on. I’ll let Sonoda-san know you’ll be joining us for the shoot.” He lends the garments towards him. Oikawa, with unusual vigour, rushes towards his previous spot.

-

He thought he looked _dashing_ as he views himself in the mirror for the third time. Iwaizumi, who finally finished changing, huffs, “Well aren’t you enjoying yourself.” as he puts on his practice shirt. Oikawa scoffs and continues with the costume he’s wearing. The kimono was deep blue with minor details stitched around masterfully in a lighter shade. The haori was black, covered with tiny, scattered specs of bright yellow and white. As if it was imitating the galaxy.

All Iwaizumi could do is shake his head in silent disapproval. “Do you even know what you’re doing?” he asks as he leans back on the wall.

“All I have to do is look cute for the camera! Boom. Instant star.” he cheered annoyingly. He walked towards his bag to grab his trusty comb.

“This isn’t about you, Stupidkawa. You’re basically a human prop for the girl in the video.” Iwaizumi countered. 

Oikawa ignores the ‘human prop’ portion of Iwaizumi’s reply and answers, “I know that. I promise I won’t try to outshine Miss Idol and be a good co-star!” The irritating chipper that came with the sarcasm gave Iwaizumi the urge to kick Oikawa’s ass as a good way of humbling him.

He already feels bad for the poor girl who will have to work with his imbecile of a friend. All he can hope for is that Oikawa is in his best behaviour as he watches him comb his hair carefully like it’s some cherished treasure. After five minutes, Ennoshita walks over to their corner to check up on him with shoes in hand. Oikawa turns around and poses gaudily.

“Wow!” Ennoshita chuckles, “You look good. I’m glad it fits just right.” Oikawa hums in agreement. “So I get the part right?” He asks eagerly, although it was more of a declaration than a question.

Ennoshita steps back just a tiny bit with a hesitant smile. “Uh, yeah. Like I said, if it fits, the role is yours. Now, here are your shoes. After you’re finished, meet me and the cameramen and we’ll go through your parts.”

The director instructed him briefly as he lays the shoes in front of him. After that, he left to be with the rest of the tech crew. Oikawa happily wears his shoes as soon as he can and follows Ennoshita with a spring to his step.

“Oh, brother.” Iwaizumi mumbles while sitting down on the wooden court. Developing some morbid fascination on this entire ordeal. Might as well text Hanamaki and Matsukawa while he’s loitering around.

-

  
Umi settles down on the chair as Honoka and Kotori dig through their bags filled with many, many makeup and hair accessories. As they appear in front of her, she makes a face akin to astonishment and horror.

“.. We’ll use _all_ of these?” she asks Honoka in disbelief. The latter giggles and shakes her head.

“No, silly. You’ll pick which hairpin you like the most. As for the makeup, leave the rest to me.” Honoka chatted cheerfully. Umi nods, picking out a yellow camellia hairpin. Kotori gets behind her and starts combing her hair.

“This flower represents longing, right?” Umi muses, Kotori hums as a ‘yes’. “How did you know that one, Umi-chan?”

“I read about it somewhere while doing research for the song.” Umi answers coyly, her lips perking up to a slight smile. “I was deciding between using ‘yellow camellia’ or ‘penicillium’ for a metaphor. But then I thought flower metaphors were a bit too predictable.”

“Oooh, trying something different with your songwriting, huh? Umi-chan’s shaking things up~” Honoka compliments her while shaking the bottle of liquid foundation in her hands.

“It’s not like I’m changing anything drastically. I just thought another flower metaphor would have been redundant.” She shoots her down, looking at her hands. That doesn’t last very long as her friend tilts her chin up to apply primer on her face.

Umi fretted “I am sincerely hoping you won’t put too much.” Sensing her concern, Honoka assures her she won’t, and that the concept she’s going for is the ‘no-makeup’ makeup type look. A sigh of relief escapes her lips; even though she thinks she’ll be better off without dolling up for the shoot, she’d rather not argue with her friends and just hope that they wouldn’t go overboard.

The end results were better than she expected. They braided her hair, Kotori placed the pin on the left side of her head. Honoka kept her promise with the whole ‘simple’ look; soft eyes, minimal contouring—although the blush and highlighting were more obvious, and cherry lips.

Her friends look in awe at their creation. “See? What did we tell you? You look so pretty!” Honoka chirped. The two of them high-five each other while Umi grabs the compact mirror and observes her own face. She _feels_ the layers of makeup, but her friends made it look like she was just out and about. “How did you guys do that?” she asks, dumbfounded.

“Never underestimate the skills of your talented friends, my dearest Umi-chan~” Kotori boasts, posing with peace signs. That response earned a hearty chuckle from her “Alright. I apologise for worrying too much. You guys did really well. Thanks for coming along and helping me get ready.” She praises them sincerely. The two of them couldn’t help themselves and give her a bear hug, spouting reassurances and ‘good lucks’ to their dearest friend.

Eventually, Ennoshita lets himself in the dressing room. “Hey!” he starts. “Looks like Kousaka-san and Minami-san got to work. You look lovely, Sonoda-san.” She feels heat rise up to her face and tries to hide the blush its’ forming by bowing her head, mumbling a ‘thank you’ to his kind words.

“Good thing you’re ready. I came over to give you an update.” The director informs. Umi looks up to him and listens intently. “So, we prepared the first set earlier than expected. However, we need your opinion on it before we shoot anything. Is it all right if we have a chat with the cameramen and other crew?” he inquired.

“Of course. If there’s anything I need to explain or critique, I would gladly cooperate.” she stated politely; almost as if she’s talking to an adult or a teacher. Ennoshita thanks her, taken aback with her manner of speaking as he’s surrounded by people who are childish and abrasive with how they speak.

“One more thing before I forget,” he trails off a bit, unsure of how to even bring up Oikawa and her working together, but he has to introduce them _somehow_.

“Someone volunteered to be the male lead. He’s still going over what his role will be so if you could just go through some stuff together, explain what you’re expecting from him, then that would be great.” Ennoshita discloses as he points to Oikawa pacing around the corner, reading a piece of paper with a stoic, serious expression.

That facade was ruined immediately by a guy—his friend, she assumes—shouting “Stop leaving random shit all over the place!” at him as he throws a comb directly to the back of his head. Umi watches her leading man’s face scrunch up in pain. He started crouching down a bit and crumpling the piece of paper in his hands. All while whining to the man sitting on the floor across him.

Honoka and Kotori look on silently. Many, many things are going through their minds, but one prominent thing was morbid curiosity; they were wondering how they’ll get along and if their friend would short-circuit on camera for any reason (they’re predicting it’ll be over shyness or embarrassment). Especially since the two of them would have to play the role of star-crossed lovers pretty convincingly.

“That’s her Hikoboshi, huh?” Honoka whispers playfully to Kotori. Giggling quietly, the latter nods. “Our day’s just gotten interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can thank miss right for sponsoring this monstrosity


	2. i’m an explorer adventuring through the deep forest of mystery (that is you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First introductions are tricky when your friend throws a comb at you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m so sorry bts for disgracing just one day with my heterosexual crack nonsense

Was that a good first impression?

Absolutely not! Why would Oikawa want strangers to see him in pain? Iwaizumi will not hear the end of this from him. He winces and rubs the back of his head before turning around. There he sees Ennoshita and the visitors watching him. 

The director’s face reeked of indifference. Either he’s seen these kinds of shenanigans with his teammates too often, or he just doesn’t have the mental energy to care about something this dumb.

The two girls wearing tracksuits were trying to hide their giggles, covering their mouths with their hands. They hushed themselves when they noticed that yes, he can see them laughing at his demise.

His co-star’s reaction was different. Her brows raised, eyes observing his movements, her coloured lips forming a frown.

Oikawa feels a fluttering in his chest. It’s like he wants to apologise for making her worry.

He snaps out of it, standing up straight and unclenching his fists from the deformed piece of paper. Flashing them his best smile as naturally as he can. Ennoshita nods and calls him over. He takes wide strides, feigning confidence in his movements. Once he’s in front of his co-star, he extends his hand forward. 

“Hi! I don’t think I’ve introduced myself to you,” he starts, his honeyed tone and assertive gaze trying to compensate for the humiliating state she’s seen him in. “My name’s Oikawa Tooru. Pleasure to work with you.”

The girl shakes his hand gingerly and asks, “Is your head all right? Are you hurt anywhere?” which makes the boy’s eyes widen. Hints of self-assurance disappearing from his demeanour.

Oikawa laughs to conceal his embarrassment. What makes things worse is that he knows she knows he’s faking it. “Oh, don’t worry about that. It was just a hairbrush. He’s thrown _way worse_ than that.” He boasts like it’s some achievement; to be hit on the head with a volleyball by Iwaizumi in front of his doting fans.

Her frown deepens. But before she could pry any further, Ennoshita interrupts them, clearing his throat and clapping his hands. 

“Sweet, now that’s out of the way, we can start the shoot. Sonoda-san, Aone-san and Kamasaki-san will need some feedback on the set, so I’ll have them talk to you.” His co-star nods, her eyes catching the view of her hand still enveloped in his. She pulls away gently, stealing the warmth from the latter’s hand. Oikawa retracts his empty palm.

“After that, Takinoue-san and Akaashi-kun will go through the sequences with you two. They’ll most likely do the individual shots first. That’ll give you guys some time to talk before they shoot your scenes together.”

He points his index finger at the two of them. “I want you guys to talk about your parts—Oikawa-san, please go over the lyrics a few more times if you need to. Communicate with each other, ask questions, get to know one another. We must build up the chemistry between the two of you.” Ennoshita requests firmly. Oikawa feels like he’s being coached by Coach Irihata, not by some second year from another school.

Build up chemistry, huh? Well, that shouldn’t be a problem! Not only does he have the looks that will surely capture her heart—he’s also charming, friendly, and not like Iwaizumi, whose abrasive and crude 24/7. He can totally play the hell out of this part, just like he did earlier! He might even gain more fans once the music video’s out. Although, he was pulled back from this individualistic fantasy when Ennoshita continues.

“Remember, guys, Tanabata is about longing and finding love, and the song very much conveys the same sentiment. I hope the two of you can express that mutual pining we’re after. As if you guys were Orihime and Hikoboshi themselves.” The director adds before pushing their backs towards the crew.

Once settled, Oikawa looks over to his co-star as she observes the set with two Date Tech students. Her braided hair laying on her shoulder with a pretty hairpin as an accessory. The apples of her rosy cheeks glowing when the rays of studio lights hit her face gently. Satisfaction looming over her as she thanks the art designers for creating the set composed of white walls, a futon and a yellow blanket. Her beaming smile oozes of warmth he wishes he can soak up once more. 

For the next few hours, he must find out as much as he can about her and get close to her as much as possible. What information he’ll get and how far will his endeavours reach? He’s not too sure. But what kind of co-star would he be if he didn’t even try, right?

So he smooths out the crumpled paper and reads over the lyrics again.

-

He is proud to say that he’s learned something about Sonoda Umi within 45 minutes. After speaking to her friends briefly, he finds out that she’s their group’s lyricist. Almost every song they’ve sung are her creations. It encouraged him to comb through every detail. Eventually, he developed a sense of respect for her artistry. He never expected idols to be this... honest, in a way. Especially like this, where her song goes beyond what he’s heard on the radio. 

Every word bursts with sincerity; it reads like those passages he recites in literature class. Verses about how meeting each other was predestined. How the cosmos moves and shifts in favour of their love. Lines basked in flowery language but gets the point across, anyway. How did she do it?

Moreover, how did she make _him_ feel **giddy**? Oikawa felt like she wrote this song for him specifically. And it’s not his conceitedness saying it this time. Everything about this was... personal. She’s completely exposing her emotions to the reader with no room for holding back.

Maybe she had someone to write about? That would explain a lot of things. But the thought disappointed him a bit (and he will not elaborate why). For now, he’ll just assume she was going for that effect; that she dedicates it to whoever’s listening.

“Wow, you’re actually taking this seriously. I’m impressed.” Behind him, Iwaizumi suddenly mused. Oikawa turns around and closes his eyes with a smirk on his lips. “Iwa-chan! I didn’t think you viewed me as unprofessional! How will I make it in the industry if I don’t take my projects seriously?” Oikawa challenges.

“Industry, my ass. This is a high school production.” his friend scoffs.

“Hey, you don’t get to talk smack about this. Also, you humiliated me in front of my co-star! How will I establish a rapport with her if she’s already seen me in my worse state!” He whines dramatically, faking a dejected expression and clenching his fist against his chest.

“You just had to display your barbarity to everyone here. You probably scared my poor leading lady away.” Iwaizumi’s face—like a sponge being squeezed a bit too hard—scrunches up to a deadly scowl, so Oikawa takes this as a sign to shut up. Knowing him, he’ll probably find something worse than a comb to throw and Oikawa’s not entirely keen with nursing his own wounds.

Instead, he watches the girl go through her takes. She’s wrapping the yellow blanket around herself while smiling playfully. Playing hide-and-seek with the camera. She repeats these actions one more time before Ennoshita shouts a “Cut!” through his megaphone. The director gives her a high five as she walks past and asks Shrimpy to give her a bottle of water.

“Looks like it’s your turn, Mr. I’m-A-Professional-Actor. Get your ass over there and knock ‘em dead.” Iwaizumi—as much as he gets annoyed at his best friend’s different yet all-the-more infuriating weekend ventures—had his own way of encouraging him as Oikawa smiles and thanks him before stepping on the set. Iwaizumi watches him walk away for a good minute, making sure he’s far enough so he could grab his phone from his pocket. He checks his texts briefly, crouching down.

**GROUP: Hanamaki, Matsukawa**

**Hanamaki:** dude

 **Hanamaki:** has he started

He replies a yes, throwing a few subtle looks around the set before reading Matsukawa’s replies.

 **Matsukawa:** send us the most embarrassing photo you can take of him

 **Matsukawa:** either we’ll make a tapestry out of it or we’ll ask the student council to include this in the year book HAHAHAHA

His face lightens up to a wicked grin at the idea—and if anyone thinks he’s above being that petty, they’re dead wrong. He types an “I’m on it.” and presses send. He’ll be looming around the room awaiting the right opportunity to take photos like some crazed paparazzi. At least he can keep himself occupied that way.

-

Umi feels like falling off the face of the earth.

Things got to her when she watched herself on the monitor. She tries to suppress her puzzled expression, but to no avail. When asked by the sound mixers, she couldn’t give them a reason why she looked so perplexed. Not that something displeased her—Director Ennoshita did such an outstanding job. The set was exactly how she envisioned. The lighting was great. Even she thinks she did well during her takes. But her bashfulness never relents.

The thought of other people watching her do anything idol-related freaked her out a bit. Especially in an area where she is as unfamiliar as ever. However, her support system, the director and other students have been nothing short of accommodating. As for her co-star...

He only watched from afar. She noticed his glances while speaking to the art directors earlier. After that complete debacle with their introductions, he’s reverted to being astute while reading her lyrics. Not once have they approached each other to start a conversation. They didn’t really have the opportunity, but small talk could have been possible. As he walks towards Director Ennoshita, her co-star gives her a thumbs up and a small smile. Umi returns the gesture and moves to the side as they started filming.

Now it was her turn to observe him. 

He’s all-smiles. Casual, a bit of a jokester. He relaxes, walking around the set with his hands gathered on his back. His movements akin to an emperor looking over his vast empire.

The only thing she knows about him is his name. Maybe he’s a person who likes to be seen as confident? Is that a fact? It’s not something she can confirm unless she asks someone. So she tries speaking to the boy next to her (Hinata, she thinks?) and she didn’t really expect what she’s heard.

Spiteful praises on how he’s the ‘grand king’ who does killer jump serves came out of his lips. He continues to begrudgingly gush over his skills as a setter and how he’s easily the prefecture’s best. Umi’s knowledge of volleyball was only limited to gym class, so she was clueless on a few things. But she understood him to an extent.

Cruel as a player against his enemies. That’s one thing. However, she wanted to know him more as a person, not as an opponent. When she raises this concern to Hinata, he didn’t have an answer for her. 

“Well, he doesn’t go to this school so I wouldn’t have an idea about him...” The boy trails off apologetically.

Umi waves her hand, “No, that’s all right. I guess I should just talk to him personally instead of asking other people.” She concludes while the sinking feeling in her chest stings even further. Honoka and Kotori’s social skills blow hers out of the water any day. Friendly, lovely to talk to, even brightening the mood of everyone they speak to. Meanwhile, she needs more coaxing or else the conversation dies down to awkward silence. How will a conversation between them even start? How do people initiate small talk-

“Hey Kageyama!” Hinata bursts which snaps Umi out of her train of thought, startled. She sees a boy with black hair and a scowling face, holding a gym bag in his arms, coming towards them.

“What do you want, dumbass?” The latter growls while adjusting the length of his bag strap. Umi’s taken aback on how profanity just escapes this guy’s mouth like it’s part of his vocabulary. “You went to junior high with the Grand King, right? What’s he like as a person?” Hinata carries on, straightforward and unfazed by his manner of speaking.

It seems like he completely ignored what she said earlier. Too late to back out now, so might as well roll with the punches, she thinks.

“Huh?!” The boy snaps, then looks at her. His expression lightens, but his brows still knitted together. “He was a petty jerk. Why?” He answers gruffly. Umi raises her left brow in surprise. So Oikawa has an attitude problem? She braces herself for an elaboration. But it never came as the other boy was disinterested in continuing the conversation.

“Come on! You’re gonna have to tell us more than that!” Hinata demands, his hands making their way to the boy’s shoulders. He shakes him up roughly, making Kageyama grow even more irritable. Cussing out the former bit too much for Umi’s personal liking.

Before things escalated, Umi intervened, separating them. “I think I’ve heard enough. Like I said earlier, I’ll just talk to him myself.” She affirmed, pursing her lips together; distracted by her own fussing and thoughts. She didn’t even notice her frowning face until Kageyama gives her a brief apology.

“I think Iwaizumi-san is your best bet if you would like to know more about Oikawa-san. They’re childhood friends, so he can probably give you something of substance.” He advices and directs her to a boy with rolled-up sleeves crouched down on his phone, snickering to himself. **Oh**. It was Oikawa’s friend who threw the hairbrush earlier. She nods hesitantly and thanks the two of them before heading towards the other guy in small steps.

Umi’s feet slow to a stop, keeping enough distance from his left side. The shadow she casts catches him off-guard. The boy looks up from his phone only to see her looking down at him with a blank stare.

His face paled and green eyes widened. Suddenly, he abruptly tosses his phone to the side. The corners of his mouth quirking up forming a small, hesitant grin. After exchanging short, awkward introductions, Umi stops beating around the bush.

“Sorry for interrupting you, Iwaizumi-san. I just wanted a word with you.” Umi articulated. The stern delivery along with her piercing gaze made Iwaizumi slightly nervous.

Did he just got **got?** He didn’t think he was that obvious when he sneaked a few snapshots of Oikawa getting reprimanded by the director. “... About what?” He queried. For all he knows, she might be here to tell him off for throwing that brush at Oikawa’s head. She hasn’t elaborated on what this discussion was about!

“It’s about Oikawa-san. I’ve spoken to someone here, and they referred me to you. I heard you guys were close friends?” She starts while leaning her right shoulder against the wall.

Iwaizumi cautiously answers a “Yeah, we are,” and anticipates her response. All he got was a hum of acknowledgement. The cat finally caught her tongue. Umi didn’t know where to stir this conversation towards. Should she be subtle about what she’s after? That never really benefits her.

Eventually, Umi forces herself to kill the stretch of silence. “As his friend, what can you tell me about him? The people I’ve asked can only really talk about him as a rival and their words weren’t all that positive.” Now she’s muttering, exasperated by her own formality and stiffness. “I want to know a bit about him aside from what he’s like as a volleyball player.”

Iwaizumi’s heard this question in multiple forms from multiple girls. His school, mostly. Although there are a few from other schools in the prefecture. They all wanted to over-analyse his best friend and impress him with the knowledge they gained about him. It was like they were partaking in an Oikawa-themed quiz bee and the girl who knows the most facts about him, wins. 

Although that bit about other people’s negative perception of him piques his own interest. “What have you heard so far?” he probes, finally meeting her eyes with the same curiosity.

Hers shift for a bit in hesitance, “I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to say. Like I said, they weren’t all that pleasant.” Umi falters, her hand rubbing her forearm. Iwaizumi shrugs, “Hey, try me. It can’t be any worse than what I say to his face every day.”

His response worries her a bit. However, she decides not to dwell or speculate on the severity of his own choice words for Oikawa. “Well, I’ve heard he’s some kind of show-offy jerk who enjoys ruffling a few feathers.” Umi doesn’t really repeat Hinata’s words verbatim.

Iwaizumi chuckles suddenly, his mood lightening up. “That’s a gentler way to put it. If you were wondering whether he’s a smug asshole, he can be.” The boy states candidly as his body relaxes and leans further against the wall. “The guy has fangirls following him around, ‘course he’ll have a big head.”

“Fangirls? He must be a remarkable athlete then.” Umi muses. The same hidden fascination from earlier manifesting itself again. Maybe he’ll finally entertain her. Subtlety isn’t her forte in the slightest, but she reckons she can hold out until she gets the answers she needed.

“He is, but they’re mostly after his looks.” he adds. Umi gulps loudly but immediately pretends to clear her throat. Taking out a page out of her co-star’s book. Iwaizumi looks at her amused with his brows raised, a smirk replacing the grin off his face.

“The cocky piece of shit knows he’s good-looking and his skills are better than most. Sometimes, he wouldn’t shut up about it during practices, so I just throw a volleyball at him for good measure. He needs a bit of humbling every once in a while, don’t you think?” Iwaizumi challenges Umi, who hesitantly nods in agreement. 

“I guess so. But isn’t throwing things at him a bit much?” She asks him. Iwaizumi’s teasing was immediately met with this girl’s bluntness. Now it’s his turn to fall silent. There wasn’t any ill intent or malice in her rebuttal, but Iwaizumi didn’t expect to be called out by a stranger.

“Fair point.” He agreed, raising his hands up in surrender. 

“He can irritate many people and he tests my patience every day. But he knows when to be serious, and it’s not like he’s blind to social cues either.” Iwaizumi felt the need to reassure her as he watches her face turn gloomier and gloomier in discouragement.

He knows she intends to get to know him as much as possible and Iwaizumi had no interest in sugarcoating the ‘criticisms’ she’s heard about Oikawa (especially since they’re true, to an extent) but it’ll be unjust to only present the unpleasant aspects of his personality.

“More people know about his shitty side because that’s all they’ve seen. He’s pettier than most people, sure, but even then... he’s not really a bad person. He works hard, focuses on his goals. He’s nice to people who aren’t his opponents, at the very least. You’ll be just fine working with him.” Iwaizumi concludes. 

After hearing all of that, Umi really didn’t know how to continue this conversation. She feels the need to reiterate that she wants to hear something more positive about her co-star. However, she fears that there might be nothing of the sort.

And it’s not fair to him! She’s barely talked to the guy himself, and she’s already heard many bad things about him. Even if she’s only spoken to two people, Umi couldn’t help but think she’s being gossipy. Knots forming in her stomach at the unpleasant realisation, which translated to an unpleasant grimace. She’s hit a wall yet again.

“Look, I’m sorry for not being useful with stuff like this, Sonoda-san. I didn’t wanna lie to you about what you’ve heard,” Just like that, Iwaizumi sighed as he scratches the back of his head.

Umi shakes her head, “It’s fine, Iwaizumi-san. Thank you for your honesty.” She replies curtly, standing up straight again to make her way towards the director. But before she walks away, Iwaizumi catches her attention one last time.

“Uhhh. If you want to initiate conversation, maybe you could start by sharing your food with him? I don’t know if you have any, though. But it would help. He likes snacks.” Iwaizumi suggests kindly. It’s the least he can do at this point.

The girl’s expression brightens a tad, a close-mouthed smile forming on her lips. “If that’s the case, I’ll share a few things with him. Hope he likes red bean.” She thanks him one last time before making her way back to the dressing room to grab a tupperware containing matcha-flavoured and regular manjū.

It’s a tiny, tiny step towards knowing him, but she’ll relish the small things just as much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MANNNNNNN IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO FINISH THIS HHHHHHHH i took my time with writing especially after hq’s last chapter and just soaking everything up. i already miss it huhuhu ;-; (also i had to rewatch seijoh episodes/a few umi side stories from sif bc i wanted to characterise them well enough) also i changed a few things with the tags bc of this chapter lol
> 
> anyways!!!!! since nobody can stop me and my smooth brain just does what it wants.... i’m going to write more oikawa/umi fics even incorporating the manga time skip dhdhhdhdhd like why not i already have a few drafts and i came up with a whole ass lore so let’s just do this baby


	3. was i always an open book? or did you turn my page?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa and Umi take the babiest of baby steps.

She wasn’t doing anything wrong, necessarily. 

So why did she feel a jolt along her spine when Honoka asked about the tupperware? Umi reacted like she caught her stealing an ancient artefact. The girl’s wide, curious eyes can only watch as her friend explains that she was getting hungry, so she wanted to snack on some manjū while she wasn’t busy. 

The latter answers an “ _Uh huh_...” at the blatant verbal diarrhoea and doesn’t press on it any further. Umi can sense the suspicion laced in her tone, but she can rest easy as her friend moves on in silence. Her grip on the container relaxes.

Putting Umi’s out-of-character behaviour aside, Honoka peeks over to see if they were anywhere near finished with the male lead’s takes. Then her attention returns to her friend, who's looking for a bottle of tea in her backpack. 

Weirdly enough, that was Honoka’s lightbulb moment. Putting two and two together with no further hints needed. The girl gasps and turns around, pointing her finger at the former for dramatic effect.

“You!” Honoka exclaims, then squeals. Trying to contain her giddiness by covering her mouth with clenched fists. “Oh my gosh, you were planning on giving that to him, weren’t you!” That was not a question. Umi’s blood ran cold in contrast to the burning crimson of her face, neck and ears.

“I-I...” was the only thing she can utter. An incoherent stutter was more than enough ammunition for Honoka to gush and tease her about how she finally has her first love, and how she was planning to start the first approach. 

Umi wanted to throw the tupperware towards the flaming, scorching sun and run as fast as she can to Sendai station. To catch an early bullet train to Tokyo so she could lock herself in her room and see no one else ever again.

She didn’t even _think_ about that. Following Iwaizumi’s suggestion was her only intention. Upon realising the implications of what she was about to do, she shoves the manjū back into her bag with brute force.

“Hey, no!” Honoka whines as her friend zips the bag shut. “Don’t chicken out, Umi-chan! Let him have those! It’ll help–“

“N-Not when you’re reacting like that!” Umi snaps as she gains a bit of composure. Turning around with a sharp glare. Honoka gulps.

“Being filmed in front of these strangers was bad enough. I am soldering on for the group no matter how embarrassing this is for me,” She begins, exasperated. Her face forming a scowl.

“I don’t need you or anyone else scrutinising my actions! Especially towards my co-star. I do not wish to subject myself to even more humiliation in front of him or the crew.” Umi was fuming. She wanted to run her hands through her hair in frustration, but it would ruin the braid. So she opted to ball her fists around the hems of her hakama. 

The latter immediately apologises for her overreaction; hurriedly explaining how she wasn’t being malicious as she was more taken aback. She repeatedly apologises until Umi just sulks, and dismisses her with a “You can stop now, Honoka.”

Umi sighs and just sits idly for a minute.

Will she really let the possibility of being teased hinder her from what she has to do? Sonoda Umi is the textbook definition of shy, most definitely, but she wasn’t spineless. Or at least she’s trying not to be. That’s the reason they’re doing this shoot. 

This video is an opportunity for her to showcase herself—and to an extension, the group. Solo stages and projects were bound to happen, eventually. Not only that, gaining fans and connections from outside the Kanto region would help them gain more influence.

If these people willingly gave their time and energy to some random school idols, then who is she to let their efforts go to waste by being too shy or uncooperative? She’ll just have to ignore her own urges of clamming up and give it her best.

So she unzips the bag and grabs the manjū and tea. Umi hears a sigh of relief from Honoka. “So, are you giving those to him?” her friend asks softly, still unable to gauge her mood. Umi stands and fixes herself up, straightening her hakama. 

“Yes. But I like I said, no teasing or any other comments from you or Kotori. Understood?” The girl warns, using the bottle of tea to point at her. Ah, she was back to business as usual. Honoka gives her a salute and an earnest “Roger!” as she’s no longer in hot water.

Umi just huffs at her cheerful response. Now she stands by the sidelines, patiently waiting for Oikawa’s takes to end. The bottle and the tupperware are trembling in her hands, but maybe imagining Oikawa as a vegetable would help her nerves settle somehow.

  
-

His takes were hard for some reason.

Oikawa’s only an extra in the video, so he expected bare-minimum close-up shots and nothing else. He never thought the director would ask him to be wistful.. yet determined at the same time (he’s looking for a weird mix of emotions).

Ennoshita made him walk around the set over and over—slightly frantic—as if he was searching for something. Now he’s sitting in front of a telescope, jolting up a second time as something catches his eye. He makes this take count as he didn’t appreciate being told off by Ennoshita earlier in front of the crew. 

Might as well make everyone’s lives easier, no?

After three more tries, the director yells, “Cut!” and the cameras stop rolling. He makes a beeline towards the monitors by the tech crew. Before heading over to Iwaizumi’s corner, he asks a cameraman—Akaashi—if he could watch his reels.

Oikawa fell silent while studying himself. Like he was cooped in his room; analysing his rival’s matches on his computer. Oikawa recalls Ennoshita’s criticisms from earlier. The boy begrudgingly admits that yes, he sucked in some of the scenes.

That really took him down a notch. His ego elated to hear praises from the director during the Haikyuu!! Quest taping. He really thought he was cut out for this thing! But that’s what he gets for assuming that acting was all fun and games. Even if it is just a high school production like Iwaizumi said. 

Oikawa can usually pinpoint his own mistakes during practices and such. However, he couldn’t think of anything that would lead him to a definite conclusion for the matter at hand.

He understood the lyrics to the best of his abilities. He knows what performance Ennoshita is looking from him. So why couldn’t he convey it? At least, not enough for the director’s standards? Oikawa sighs, running a hand across his hair in frustration. If there’s one thing he hates, it’s being in a rut.

Suddenly, Akaashi clears his throat, catching his attention. “Is it alright if I finish the reel? Sonoda-san’s going to do some close-ups after they clear the set, so I have some things to adjust.” The cameraman requests. 

Oikawa nods, muttering a soft “Of course,” before stepping aside and watching Akaashi prepare. He’s unaware of his own face turning sour until the cameraman checks up on him.

“Huh?” Oikawa faltered.

“I was just wondering if you were alright, Oikawa-san. You were spacing out a bit.” Akaashi clarifies, all polite. 

The latter laughs nervously, “Of course I am! No need to worry, Akaashi-kun. Just do what you have to do.” and pats the cameraman’s shoulder. Akaashi’s face was unreadable. His teal eyes were boring through his brown ones. He feels a bit of sweat run down the back of his neck.

“Would you mind if I offer you a bit of help?” he offers, nonchalant. Oikawa nods hesitantly at the vague proposal. “Go on,” he coaxes.

“I think..” Akaashi starts, “The director wants you to put yourself in your character’s shoes.” He suggests while cleaning the camera lens with a cloth.

“Like, how? I feel like he’s looking for a life experience that just hasn’t happened yet.” Oikawa challenges with a tinge of misdirected snark, still confused. Akaashi gives him a look and sets the camera down. 

“I don’t know–if you were in that situation, wouldn’t you feel antsy? Agitated, even?” The cameraman pushes, brows furrowing a bit. Oikawa spins his gears into thinking.

“If you could only see the love of your life once a year—and that day finally arrives—how would you feel? Start from there. Maybe if you find your own answer, you can empathise with Hikoboshi.” Akaashi concludes, picking up the camera again and giving it one last wipe before taking care of the monitors. Leaving Oikawa to his own devices.

Oikawa wasn’t one to drift around his surroundings deep in thought. He likes to keep his overthinking in the comfort of his room with no watching eyes, basked in darkness. But he can make an exception for today. As answering that question would satisfy the director and his own need to do his best.

Looking back on his past relationships would probably help. Although it’s not his favourite pastime.

Oikawa didn’t avert himself from romance; in fact, he welcomed it. He didn’t see his admirers as nuisances like everybody else did. He was more than happy to entertain the confessions and the gifts. He even started dating a few of them! 

And that was fine. However, they all fizzled out when his ex-partners discovered his devotion to his craft. Eventually, they realised they can never remove him from the clutches of volleyball.

He _loved_ them. If he didn’t, he would’ve cut them off from the start. Not even giving them an opportunity to confess. But fatalism championed against optimism like clockwork. So in his eyes, they were only fleeting instances of overblown infatuation that never amounted to anything meaningful. 

Maybe that’s why he can’t feel for Hikoboshi. Hikoboshi probably wasn’t an emotionally constipated brat–

 **Ah** , there it is. Just when he thought he couldn’t pinpoint his shortcomings. He’s found an answer for Akaashi. But he’s not jumping for joy, especially with the afterthought that came along with it.

“Must be nice; being at the mercy of another person.” Oikawa mutters, chuckling bitterly. He couldn’t portray those emotions on camera: longing, frustration, exhilaration of being in the embrace of someone who's waited for him. All because he’s unable to surrender himself to anything but volleyball. So in return, nobody had the patience to stay with him. How pitiful. 

What kind of music video shoot was this? Making him think critically about his aversion to commitment. He didn’t sign up for this.

Oikawa now has a better understanding of Hikoboshi to a degree. He can’t empathise with him, but at the very least, he gets him. Now his only problem is portraying that on-screen. 

He knows he’s the love interest, but how much acting he has to do? Unclear. Not only will he completely bomb his role, he’ll be embarrassing himself in front of the artist who worked hard to make this shoot possible. Goddamn it.

“Sonoda-san has me beat. At least she knows what it’s like.” He mumbles to himself, his thumb and middle finger rubbing his temples.

“Have you beat on what?” A familiar, gentle voice asks him. He feels his heart drop to the soles of his feet. Trying his best not to yelp out, “ _Shit_!” as he turns around and acknowledges his co-star. Oikawa’s face was as white as a sheet, his facial expression bewildered. Her curious eyes continue to linger on him as he remains silent.

Curiosity turned into worry, then morphed into bashfulness. Umi apologises profusely for startling him, and Oikawa apologises for making her worry. If Iwaizumi were in proximity, he would ask if they were doing a comedy skit.

Stiff. They were nothing but stiff. Oikawa’s never had this experience with people. They would either swoon at his charms and sickly sweet compliments or they wanted to butt heads with him immediately for his pompous, passive-aggressive remarks. But never.. whatever this was.

Oikawa breaks the ice. “I was talking to myself for a bit. Sorry. Just thinking out loud. Didn’t mean to alarm you.” He spilled. His co-star hums in response, but she asks him further.

“You were thinking about me?” It puzzled her. This was the comb incident all over again.

In a millisecond, he came down to two options. He can either: a.) Brush the question off with a charming joke like earlier and let the flow of time drift them apart. Or b.) Entertain the question—no matter how embarrassing the answer may be—and ‘build chemistry’ between the two of them, as per Ennoshita’s request.

Oikawa presented himself as the male lead, so he should do what he’s told. So he chooses the latter option.

“Yeah. It’s not only about you as it was more about me. I’m struggling a bit with my role.” He admitted, attempting to be light-hearted by throwing a hearty chuckle at the end. Trying to put her worries to ease.

But Oikawa was about to learn that Sonoda Umi is a bit of a worrywart who doesn’t take things at face value.

“Is that so? In that case, maybe I can be of help. I mean, I must be able to since you were mentioning me and all.” The girl suggests politely, her expression perking up slightly. Oikawa’s face softens at her kindness. 

However, he was hesitant with sharing details about his inner monologues. That’s another can of worms a stranger probably shouldn’t hear about.

Screw it. Oikawa dug a hole for himself, and he didn’t check if she was out of earshot. Might as well take it a step further. So he enlightens his co-star on his dilemma but meticulously cherry-picks the information he shares. Retelling his conversation with Akaashi while vaguely mentioning his thought process.

To his surprise, Umi listened to every bit of his rambling. Nodding along, watching him intently as he spoke. As if his words held that much importance to her.

“Hmmm... that is difficult,” she agrees, brows furrowing a bit and her lips pursed. Hooking her index finger around her chin. Cute.

“So what you’re saying is that you haven’t experienced genuine love? At least, not to the same extent Hikoboshi has—and that’s why you’re having a hard time relating to him?” Oikawa gulps at what she says.

He felt like his jig was up; like he was a book sealed in plastic, his protectant being torn open by the reader’s eager hands. She spread his pages.

She was right, so he shouldn’t feel defensive about it. Not like there’s anything wrong with what she said. It’s not his co-star’s fault his issues with love are so blatantly obvious that it’s out there in broad daylight for anyone to see.

He tries to regain the relaxed, self-assured, and slightly cocky demeanour he had before they met. A relaxed smile makes its way on his lips as he nods. “Pretty much. A bit of a shocker since my dashing looks might have given the opposite idea.” Oikawa jokes, trying to build up his usual behaviour bit by bit.

“I don’t know about that one. Handsome men being unable to maintain relationships isn’t the most groundbreaking concept in the world.” She jokes back.

Then again, to be perceived as a joke, it had to be playful. Miss Idol delivered that line with a dryness that could compete with the Saharan desert.

Just like that, his hot-shot persona has taken another blow. The Oikawa who portrayed the Demon King earlier—the one with an absurd amount of unearned confidence—was sauntering towards the light. 

He recalls if he’s ever had an experience like this before. Has anyone given him a backhanded compliment right off the bat? Because this was just amazing. Should he feel giddy about Umi finding him handsome or insulted at the (somehow accurate) assumption regarding his love life?

Fifteen seconds of silence until Umi realises her joke didn’t land as well as she hoped. Again with the apologies. “I wasn’t trying to be malicious! I was trying to banter! I swear!” She defends, waving her hands that were gripping some kind of tupperware and bottle tightly.

She’s funny. How did she go from that to _this_? Oikawa hasn’t even said anything yet.

“Sonoda-san, I’m not mad,” He reassures, his lips perking up to a teasing grin. At least he’s not the only one who’s rattled. This encourages him to take another step further.

“I’m flattered you find me attractive! But what I’m more curious about is the utmost confidence in your ‘joke’.” Oikawa pushes, teetering between politely engaging and poking fun. It surprises the latter; eyes wide, her cheeks still reddened, matte cherry lips slightly agape.

“It almost seems like you were speaking from experience. In that case, then you really have me beat. Although I’m not surprised that flocks of boys come crawling-“

She felt the need to correct him almost immediately.

“T-that is not- I... haven’t, actually.” Her answer was quiet, like she was whispering in hopes of him missing it. Oikawa actually would have missed it if he wasn’t tuning in to her every word. He pauses to observe her as she ducks her head.

“You haven’t what?” He coaxes.

“You know,” her occupied hands move frantically. Trying her best to avoid having to say it out loud. But she realises she must use her words instead of vague hand gestures. “Been with anyone romantically. So, Oikawa-san, you actually have _me_ beat.” His co-star counters.

This new discovery stunned Oikawa. Before he can even form a coherent question, the words were already leaving his lips. “Really? But your lyrics are so... they kind of suggest otherwise,”

“I read a lot of books; romance novels. They help me write songs when I have no prior knowledge on certain topics. That includes love, unfortunately.” There was a tinge of shame as Umi mutters her confession.

Oikawa only replies with a simple “Oh.” because really, how would you even respond to that? He just zips his mouth shut. For the last two hours, he thought she wrote this song about someone in particular. 

He thought of how lucky this person was to have a song dedicated to them. To have masterfully crafted lyrics filled with adoration offered to them by the most pleasant voice Oikawa has the privilege of hearing. The song itself sounded like a dream—the instrumentals lulling the listener to escape into a wonderful universe cultivated by Sonoda Umi.

But now his co-star set the record straight. The admiration he had for her artistry has inflated, oddly enough. He reckons he likes the song more now. If she wrote these lyrics without an actual muse to revere, then what more if she writes about someone special in her life? How will she utilise her prowess?

“You are something else, Sonoda-san.” He chuckles, his words sincere. 

“Huh?” 

“Well, I guess you’re the only one who can help me out then. Since you have a knack for writing about experiences you haven’t had. Maybe you can give me a few pointers.” Oikawa suggests as he finally finds a solution to his acting dilemma. 

Akaashi and Ennoshita would probably be impressed. He’s trying to improve his performance while building rapport with his leading lady. Killing two birds with one stone.

She looked hesitant as his proposal. Sealing the deal, Oikawa leaps forward one more time.

“And I hope you aren’t thinking you have nothing valuable to suggest. You’re the mastermind of this whole thing, so I respect your input over anyone else’s here.”

Astounded golden hues met his amber ones in a snap. A glint of caution mixed with gratitude present in her gaze. Then she glances down at the tupperware and bottle she holds in her hands.

She extends these items towards him slightly. “Do you mind red bean, Oikawa-san?”

He shakes his head, “No, I don’t.”

“Then would you like to have a chat over some manjū and tea?” She offers meekly. That warm smile making its presence known again. Although, the slight shaking of her hands suggests she’s doing her best to take her own step forward just like he did. Oikawa was touched at the gesture.

He returns her warm smile with a genuine grin of his own. Placing his hands on top of hers. The shaking stops. “I would be honoured.”

They head over towards an unoccupied space and sit on the gym floor. She takes just as many steps forward as he has. He raises the threshold a bit, but she catches up with him soon enough.

By the time the crew has assembled the new set of white walls and a wooden chair, Oikawa was confident enough with his role. He won’t be Hikoboshi in the flesh, sure, but that won’t stop him from trying.

They’ve also created a dynamic vastly different from earlier. He would comfortably call her ‘Umi-chan’, while she gingerly refers to him as ‘Tooru-san’.

Looks like all those steps benefited them in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was probably the longest i took to write something. it was outro: her’s turn to be used in my crackship-writing agenda. also little little by red velvet and what is love by twice definitely kept the worms in my brain running like some sort of lab rat.
> 
> i hope this was interesting enough dhdhdhdh i decided to make this a five-chapter thing so i can write more ideas that i’ve thought of.
> 
> i had writer’s block hhhhand i had to sort some rl shit so that did not help. also, the way yall are ignoring this chapter 😌 as yall should! this whole thing is extremely cursed


	4. blanket kick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa wished they really were floating in the middle of space so that could never happen again.
> 
> Umi wondered why the gods cut their time short. And how cruel they were for doing so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall thought this wasn’t self-indulgent garbage? ha! absolutely wrong! also this was brought to u by blanket kick and heartbeat xoxoxoxo

Umi lets her eyes wander over the set while waiting for Ennoshita. The crew had to remove the futon and blanket from the set. Taking its place was a wooden chair placed near the wall.

It wasn’t grand. Not that vast either, considering the tiny space of the gym. It was just a simple set. That was sufficient for her, but the team had something special up their sleeves.

“Hi! Sorry about that. Had to talk to Tanaka about the green screen.” The director arrives, walking towards her with a notebook in his hand. The mentions of a green screen stimulating her curiosity. 

“Okay. We’ll be shooting the last few scenes with the plain background. It’s only facial expressions, but you must sing along too.” The girl nods at his instruction.

“We also came up with something that’ll give the video an extra flair.” Ennoshita chirped as he and Umi refer to the storyboard he created.

“We were hoping to film some extreme close-ups of your eyes.” He points at the far left corner of the page with his pen. “It would be cool to use that for the intro. Although, it’s your call if you want to try it out.”

The girl sets her sights upon the drawings on the sketchbook. Every scene sequenced to match her ideas. However, the director incorporated his own imagination into the sketches. She saw concept drawings of a cluttered room, ocean waves, and a sea of stars.

“If you think it’ll boost up the quality, then I wouldn’t mind that at all.” Umi responded politely. She wondered how ‘close’ was extremely close. But Director Ennoshita has proven to be pleasant to work with. So she didn’t fear for her boundaries.

During preproduction, she would explain what she wanted in terms of aesthetics. However, she didn’t want to stifle the creativity that ignited within the director or other crew members. So Umi lets them take liberties on a few things while making sure the original visual concept was still intact.

“That’s awesome! Thanks for that, Sonoda-san. I know it’s late notice but don’t worry. It is not much effort.” The director reassures, a close-mouthed smile on his lips.

“Oooh, before I forget. How are things between you and Oikawa-san?”

She smiles; she sees him and Iwaizumi bickering from the corner of her eye. “We came around eventually. Oikawa-san is lovely to be with.” Umi replies. This was the most ideal situation, but she still couldn’t believe they got along at all.

Kageyama’s attestation, although vague, had some footing. She noticed Oikawa’s boastful, childish tendencies towards Iwaizumi whenever the other boy was in proximity.

Another instance was when they were eating manjū. He brought up how his volleyball club competed against Karasuno—the director’s team—during the last Inter-high tournament. 

Umi picks up on his boastful tone as he recounts his team’s triumphant victory against the opposing team. The tinge of petty spite when he mentions a genius ‘Tobio-chan’ and a ‘Shrimpy’ (who she assumes is Kageyama and Hinata respectively) pulling off freakishly inhuman quick attacks.

She expected this behaviour, but it still jars her when he switches from pompous and proud to gentle and charming. She wonders how often he shows the latter side of himself? And to who? Because once she put ‘Oikawa’ and ‘lovely’ in the same sentence, the director looked like he wanted to laugh. Was it really that unbelievable?

“Well, I’m glad you guys are getting along fine. At least I can rest easy about your scenes together. Anyway, have a seat on the chair and then we’ll start.”

Umi complies, making her way towards the wooden chair. She straightens out her clothing before settling down. From afar, she sees her co-star’s figure leaning against the wall while chatting away. But then he snaps his head towards her direction. He kicks himself off the wall and heads towards the set. His feet halt to a pause, staying nearby the monitors. The hairs on her neck stood up.

“It’s okay, Umi,” she thinks to herself. “It’s only him. You guys are working together. It’s only natural for him to watch. It’s **only** him.”

Or so she thinks.

He acted as a magnet that attracted the attention of everyone in proximity. At first, it was the Karasuno third years tuning in. Then Hinata and Kageyama. Before she knew it, anyone who stayed around the gym was paying attention to her. It was like watching a row of dominos fall over one by one. Too many pairs of eyes were on her suddenly, and she did not like it one bit.

The girl looks for her friends or the director among the vast sea of students. Ennoshita mouths a “What’s wrong?” when Umi manages to catch his attention. The two other girls look towards her, confused. She didn’t know whether to stay in place or come running towards where they were.

But before she can decide, Oikawa approaches her seat. Only a step’s worth of space between them. He stops and crouches down on one knee in front of her. A relaxed, close-mouthed smile on his lips.

“Are you alright? It’s like you’re getting freaked out.” He asked, voice hushed. The knots in her stomach were tangling but untangling all at once.

“Freaked out is an understatement.” She hesitated, eyes darting to the students at the sidelines. “There’s just so much people around. I don’t think I can work with these eyes on me.”

“Hey,” Oikawa’s left hand wrapped itself around her’s one more time. This is happening more than it should. She can only hope the heat she feels on her cheeks will subside as soon as possible. Umi is getting used to the warmth his large, calloused hands provided her smaller and softer ones. How can a stranger’s hand be so comforting?

“You’re doing so well, Umi-chan. They’re all gathered around because they want to see what you’ve got.” He affirms gently while his thumb trace her knuckles. Umi’s mind went blank for a second.

“I’ll do whatever I can to help you. If you want me to tell Director Ennoshita to shoo them all away, then so be it. I’m at your disposal.” The mellow, sugary-sweet timbre of his voice. His kind eyes. His words basked in something akin to comfort. She will never admit it aloud, but she’s starting to _melt_.

“Th-that won’t be necessary, Tooru-san. Thank you for being so kind. Like always, I will focus harder and carry on.” She declared, more formal than she intended. But Oikawa understands.

She didn’t want to bother him. 

He nods and stands up, letting go of her hand. Her pals felt emptier than she would like. “Alrighty~ But I’ll hang around nearby to see how you’re doing.” He concludes before returning to his post. 

He didn’t have to do anything. It wasn’t part of his duty as a co-star. They’ve only known each other for a few hours. But Umi can’t be more thankful that he takes these extra steps, anyway.

Kotori looks towards her, mouthing a “You alright?” while raising a thumbs up. The girl nods.

The cameras roll. It begins.

-

Like he promised, Oikawa was at bay next to the monitors. The small crowd surrounding the set didn’t disperse, unfortunately. If it were up to him, he would’ve told Ennoshita that it was bothering her. But he’ll respect his co-stars wishes. 

After a while, he was seeing cracks in her performance.

At first, she had difficulty lip syncing to the audio. Then she struggled to keep her face bright while singing along. Even forgetting her own lyrics.

As they carried on, she wanted to wheedle herself out of the set, it seemed. It took her about more than a handful of takes before she got a hang of it.

The moments they spent eating and chatting provided him delight in what would have been a very sluggish activity otherwise. He tells her of his ventures in volleyball, while she recounts her journey as a school idol. Her motivations, the actions she took despite having massive stage fright. Oikawa was in awe at her resilience. 

It was ridiculous that she took hold of his thoughts in such a manner. She was right in front of him! His eyes, like everyone else’s, remained on her while she sing-songs “Let me love you~” towards the camera, swaying side to side. The bright smile tattooed in his memories, reappearing on her lips.

The director booms a “Cut!” and suddenly that smile was hidden by two palms covering her entire face as she groans out an “ _ **ARGGGGHHHH**_!” that filled the tiny set. It startled her friends. Eyes as wide as dinner plates. Were they shocked at the sound? Or at the actual deed of groaning?

Ennoshita asks, “Sonoda-san, what’s up? You did great!” with a worried chuckle.

Umi nods, palms remaining on her face. He notices her neck and ears adapting a shade of crimson. “Thank you, director. Don’t mind me. I’m just... yeah.” The lack of eloquence in her words was.. something new.

Oikawa found her adorable.

Because, really. She delivers her best performance all day with such grace. But she gets awkward and flimsy in a snap.

She’s a school idol, so it’s no surprise that she’s alluring. She had to captivate audiences and win them over.

He doesn’t assume Umi would agree with him, but he thinks her fumbling at being cool and collected added to her charm. He reckons he found a competitor in Umi in terms of capturing hearts. 

Because she sure as hell made him giddy. There’s no doubt in his mind that she made someone else’s heart skip a beat before. She may have done so right now to one of the crew members!

Or he could let his self-centredness run wild again and assume he’s the only one feeling like this. 

-

The shoot was going faster than she expected. Or did she just not notice the passage of time with the amount of things she did? Umi couldn’t really tell anymore.

One minute she was burning in embarrassment in front of the cameras, now here she was again; in a random corner with Oikawa. They already finished the manjū earlier. But he snagged a small bowl of dry cereal from the art directors—although Iwaizumi told him off for hogging the props for a later scene—and eats them like popcorn.

The crew was setting up the green screen background. They can’t really film scenes in the middle of the ocean or the Milky Way, so this was an excellent alternative. Amused as she is at her own silly musings, Umi realises she and Oikawa will film together in no time. The thought alone activated her fight or flight.

Umi didn’t dislike her co-star. She enjoys his company and the stories he tells. His cheery smiles that never seemed to waver. The words that escaped his lips that would leave her curious. A co-star like him was lightning in a bottle.

But maybe that’s why she’s antsy. Acting as lovers with a boy like him wasn’t even a conceivable idea until Ennoshita suggested it. Now she doesn’t know what to do.

Fantasy fuelled her songwriting, without a doubt. She wrote the damn thing after reading a shōjo manga about a high school girl time-travelling to the Sengoku era. Said protagonist ended up falling for a warlord. This song was a self-indulgent declaration of love. She didn’t think her fellow Muse members would find this and take an interest in it! So she just crafted lyrics as if no one will ever read it. 

Also, Umi didn’t have an actual person to take inspiration from. Just... books. At least, at the start.

Now, the person referred to as ‘my destiny’ has a face. And a name. With his soft, earthy hues always glued to her and only her. Oikawa was feeding into every daydream she had about the person who would make her heart skip a beat. How dare he do so in such a short amount of time! 

She kept quiet in their corner, trying to find something else to occupy her thoughts. But Oikawa was a conversation starter. He wasn’t keeping quiet for long. She should have predicted that.

The boy turns his attention to her. His face neutral. “So, penicillium. What’s up with that?” He muses suddenly, his thumb and index finger twiddling a piece of cereal. 

“.... I beg your pardon?” Umi queried. He phrased his question the most out-of-context way. Was he going to ask what’s the deal with airline food next?

“I’ve been wanting to ask what you meant. Like in the song.” He resumed while putting the single piece of cereal back into the bowl. “You sang ‘ _you’re my penicillium_ ’ with so much passion, I’m assuming I’m missing something. Are you trying to call the listener mouldy, _Sonoda-san_?”

Now he was just being cheeky.

Oikawa’s teasing delivery aside, there was genuine curiosity there. She realises not everyone will understand her lyrics. So she was more than happy to provide an explanation.

Maybe this conversation could distract her from her brief outburst from earlier.

“No! Not at all. I certainly hope any listener wouldn’t think of it that way.” She piped, concerned.

“My biology teacher taught this way back.” She starts.

“Doctors in the 1920s discovered that mould from food had antibacterial properties. that’s how penicillin was invented. The drug cured various diseases that were once deemed incurable.” This was all textbook science, but the fondness laced in her words captivated him.

“So, I guess it’s my way of saying you are my saviour. I am alive because of you. Discovering you brought me prosperity. That sort of thing.” She finishes, amber eyes finally meeting his own to gauge his reaction.

“I see.” He breathed. The childish, provocateur nature of his manner of speaking was nowhere to be heard. He breaks eye contact first, looking down at his bowl of cereal once more. “What about the calico cat part, then?” 

Remember how she said she wanted a distraction? Well, turns out explaining the lines of her love manifesto to a handsome boy did everything but remove the butterflies in her stomach. Now her explanation seemed like it was a confession. Almost.

“That’s... um-“ Umi fumbles through her words. Trying to fight the urge to burst into flames under his scrutiny.

“S-so calico cats are, uh, mostly female? A male calico cat is rare. It was interesting. Yeah!” Her intonation was jumping up and down. She decided not to explain what a male calico cat means for the song. However, Oikawa was perceptive enough to catch it on his own.

“I’m assuming it’s your way of saying ‘I only exist for you,’ or something like that?” He pushes. Umi’s eyes widen. In embarrassment, she gathers her knees to her chest so she can lean her forehead against them, hiding her face.

Oikawa chuckles at the sight of her, unable to even face him. “I’ll take that as a yes~” he sing-songs. Oh, gods, please help her poor soul.

She was now aware of how her emotions were laid out for listeners to analyse. With her songs with Muse, it didn’t matter because they were a group. So, anyone could listen to it and brush it off as all nine of them having one heart or something. But as a solo song, her words and intentions are hers and hers alone.

Sharing her thoughts to the world will always petrify her. There’s a certain intimacy in her words she doesn’t feel confident to share with a wider audience.

But Oikawa speaks again: “You know, Umi-chan, you might be the most romantic person I’ve ever met.” And that was it for her. The butterflies were in full force. Her ears were probably bright red too. If she tries to say anything it’ll only result in a rambling mess.

“I think your plan of capturing people’s hearts is working. Even with my vast amount of grace and composure, your lyrics swept me away. Not to mention your voice. The sweetest of sweet.” His tone was gloating in a way. Umi knows he’s smiling ear to ear. Even with a shit-eating grin, he probably still looks charming.

He has his own moments of giving excessive flattery to girls. But with Umi, he couldn’t help it. The boy hopes that she doesn’t think of this as empty words only meant to garner a reaction. Because her craft deserves the unending acclaim.

“I’m glad you published the song. When I listen to it, it makes me fearless. Surely many people would confess to their crushes because of you. You’re like cupid!”

Oikawa Tooru is a shameless man. He is shameless with his arrogance in his abilities and looks, and he is shameless with expressing his admiration for Sonoda Umi. He was bold enough to render her silent. All while praising her as if she performed miracles. She was melting and melting and melting.

She shakes her head ‘no,’ erratically. Oikawa scoffs at this response, “Hey, don’t give me that. This is a lovely song. Take pride in your work. Also, I bet I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Her heartbeats were sporadic, loud. The only sound that filled her ears. She buries her face deeper. No way can she look at him without making a fool of herself! There is no way. There is no-

“Director Ennoshita’s calling us. Time to roll.” Tapping on her shoulder, Umi senses him standing up. She makes a sound in between a shriek and a groan. That time has come. No use delaying it, so she lifts her head from her knees. Oikawa is offering out his hand to her.

She grabs it delicately, and he hoists her up. Oikawa’s lips form a cheshire grin. Now Umi wishes she stood up on her own.

Their hands were intertwined together as they walk back to the set. They passed by Iwaizumi at one point and all he could do was stare at them. Honoka and Kotori looked like they were going to piss their pants laughing. She saw one of them take out their phones, trying to take a photo. When this is finished, she has to check their galleries.

-

Ennoshita—like earlier—filmed solo scenes first. First Oikawa, then Umi.

The Date Tech students were probably the cleverest people Oikawa’s ever worked with. Even with limited resources and time, the art directors created a living room. Then an unfamiliar room without a wall harbouring a spectacular view of the ‘ocean’ at its’ front.

Now they’re clearing everything up. The director is discussing the lighting with them. According to him, it had to be the right amount of ‘dim’. They’re trying to imitate the galaxy. The stars had to glimmer their brightest.

Their first scene together was holding hands. Ennoshita asked them to reach out to each other and intertwine fingers. Not too bad. He observes his co-star’s demeanour while filming. Her hands were shaky and sweaty. Her eyes averting his. Oikawa’s silly way of grabbing her attention was gently squeezing her hands. 

The director liked the little ‘ad-lib’ he did. He said he’ll consider keeping it in the last cut. Once they finished, Oikawa—the little shit he was—triumphantly posed with victory signs in front of his co-star. Umi scoffs at his ‘foolishness’, but giggles at the silliness.

The atmosphere was light-hearted. He would tell one or two silly jokes that annoyed the other crew members, but she laughed anyway. Great! She’s tolerating him so far!

Onto the next scene, they went.

They sat on the floor, draped in the yellow blanket from earlier. Oikawa wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Their faces mere centimetres away. Ennoshita wants them to gaze into each other’s eyes as passionately as they can. Even smile or laugh a bit.

That’s where both of them started crumbling.

Oikawa couldn’t stop laughing during serious scenes. Umi was as stiff as a rock. The blanket kept falling off. The director _begs_ them to make the sixth take count.

His co-star tried scolding him for being unprofessional. If he could even call it that. She was stuttering while ‘lecturing’ him. 

Eventually, the girl gathered enough courage to meet his eyes again. She took initiative in her own way by gently leaning her forehead against his. Eliminating the gap between them. Oikawa felt his palms become clammy. His heartbeat taking a hold of him as it paces faster.

Ennoshita congratulates them for finally pulling it off. Pleased with how the two of them are adding their own little quirks while filming. Oikawa still hasn’t returned to Earth as these words fall onto deaf ears. He’s trying to regain his footing after Umi took his breath away with a simple gesture.

But that was a struggle.

This was the ending scene. The climax of the video, according to the director. Orihime and Hikoboshi finally meet.

Ennoshita filmed them standing a few metres away from each other. Then asking them to take one step at a time.

Eventually, he asks them to speed up until Umi was running into his arms. Enveloping him in a warm embrace. Oikawa had to lift her, hold her as close as possible and twirl around.

Umi, as usual, was more upfront about her nervousness. Chewing on her bottom lip, forgetting to move at one point. Constantly rubbing her palms against the sides of her hakama. Oikawa stood silently, obeying the director’s orders with ease. But deep inside, he was praying to the gods. Praying that he wouldn’t drop her when she jumps on him. Praying that he wouldn’t melt under her ‘loving’ gaze just like earlier.

Like always, they were clumsy. One of them tripped on their own clothes. Oikawa failed to catch her properly a few times. His arms always fumbling that he couldn’t hoist her up. On the third take, Umi missed him and almost fell flat on her face if not for her co-star grabbing her arm, halting her projection onto the floor.

Their process was slow—painfully slow—but steady. On the fifth take, they were making progress. Umi started measuring her steps until her running approach was perfect. Oikawa does the same. But stops after a certain point so they don’t collide.

Now they’ve calculated their movements, Ennoshita moves on to their actual acting. He points out Umi’s hesitance. He then asks Oikawa to appear livelier. More excited.

“A stroke on the cheek, the hair. Maybe an eskimo kiss. The two of you can even talk! Just... be less awkward, guys. Be more affectionate.” The director advises from his chair. The cameras roll for the seventh time.

It was nearly sunset. The crew needed to wrap up soon and clear the gym. Of course Ennoshita wants this to end.

So they aimed to finish this ASAP. Oikawa gathers her into an embrace, spinning her around with the brightest smile. Umi follows his example. Stroking the apples of his cheeks when Oikawa settled down. He stretches his neck forward to lean his forehead against hers. Front and centre.

He notices her breath hitch at their proximity. Eyes glued on him. Not because they’re taping. But because those chestnut-coloured orbs demanded her full attention. Like they were screaming “ _Do. Not. Look. Away. From. Me._ ”

Luckily for him, she didn’t want to deny him.

“You’re breathtaking.” He whispers gently. It took awhile to register in her mind and once it does, it stunned Umi. Eyes popping out of their sockets. The shamelessness of it all! And it was unprovoked, too. What’s this about?

“Why are-“

“The director said we can talk.” Oikawa explains. “I’ve been wanting to tell you that for hours, you know.”

Her face burns up for the umpteenth time. “Is that how you start conversations, Oikawa-san?” Umi asks, voice low.

“Nope.” He grins tenderly, his hold around her waist tightens. “To be fair, not everyone I talk to is as charming as you.”

Umi couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her lips. It acted as a defence mechanism for the onslaught of... this. She turns away from him, her forehead resting against his shoulder. “Why must you do this?” That wasn’t a question.

Oikawa only giggles. And if she was able to, she would have jabbed her elbow into his sides. It’s like his instinct is to be brazen.

Once she’s composed herself well enough, Umi faces him again. She studies his face in silence. Her hands finding their way towards his cheeks. She cups them gently. “Tooru-san, I can’t tell if you’re kidding on not.”

The boy’s heart was about to escape his damn chest that he jumped when Ennoshita yelled “Cut!” and for that, Umi eyes him nervously. “Sorry,” He gently sets her down, removing his arms around her waist, hesitant. His co-star follows. They walk together towards the crew wordlessly. 

They get one more take. Ennoshita loved their performance, but he wanted them to turn it up a notch. Something like that. He wasn’t listening because all his stupid brain can think of was Umi, _Umi_ , **Umi.**

He wants to dig himself a hole and stay in there for all eternity.

Did he just fuck up? He can’t seem to express his emotions without sounding like he’s joking. Or being an ass. What’s with that? He meant what he said. It wasn’t empty flirting or flattery. It was at the moment's heat, sure. But that doesn’t mean he was messing with her.

They resumed filming. He hoisted her up. All that jazz. Oikawa was about to make his case, but then Umi started speaking to him again.

“How come you see me that way?” His co-star falters, attempting to maintain her facial expression, but he sees how she bites her lips. Oh shit.

“Who wouldn’t?” The boy counters, eyes softening. “You’re thoughtful, you’re hardworking, and you’re beautiful to boot. The way you look at me makes my heart flutter. Isn’t that enough reason for me to find you breathtaking?”

They conversed in hushed voices. Faint. As if they’re trying to hide this from the rest of the crew watching them. If they could speak in secret code, they would, without a doubt.

Umi couldn't comprehend this. She’s never been confronted with a damn confession (was this a confession?) right to her face. Oikawa felt no shame in his emotions, and she didn’t know whether to commend him for it or run away from it. Her heartbeat and his voice were the only sounds her ears were taking in. The girl gulps nervously. “Tooru,” she drops the honorific because really, what’s the use at this point?

“Tooru, we just met. How can y-you think...” She rambles incoherently. Failing to face the intensity of his gaze. The breath tickling her lips took the air from her lungs.

Oikawa closes his eyes and hums. “It doesn’t take a genius to know that you’re wonderful.” A saccharine smile takes place on his lips. Her co-star acted as if they were alone. Like stars merely surrounded them. And the only thing they can do is embrace.

Umi closes her eyes too. Her arms holding him tighter. What else can she do?

The two of them forgot their own surrounding, the people watching their act. Until Ennoshita breaks them out of their bubble with a triumphant “That’s a wrap!” with crew members cheering and clapping along.

Oikawa wished they really were floating in the middle of space so that could never happen again.

Umi wondered why the gods cut their time short. And how cruel they were for doing so.

-

She returned to Tokyo; he went back home. It was 11pm. He had school tomorrow.

But his stupid brain couldn’t stop remembering her pretty voice, her pretty eyes, her pretty lips. Why was she so pretty? So pretty that she wouldn’t let him sleep early on a Sunday?

He groans into in his pillow, punches it, then flails around. He kicks his blanket with brute force and speed for days. Channeling his inner UFC Fighter. Now he’s thinking of all the things he said. The stupid shit she saw and heard from yours truly. Goddamn it. Why now? And why with a girl who didn’t live in the damn prefecture?

Oikawa Tooru was a stupid boy who fell in love in first sight. May the gods take pity on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY THE PLOT IS FUCKING MOVING SJJSJSNSN THIS THING IS SLOW AS HELL.
> 
> late upload again bc!!!!! i had a hard time writing this. personal shit + writer’s block = not fulfilling self-appointed deadlines. also this was long as hell djsjsjsjs nearly 5k words this was so annoying to proofread but it had to be done 😌
> 
> anyways, thanks to the two people who reads this thing hihihi love yall 😗


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